Suzanne ran on behalf of the Non-Partisan Party (NPA). The election was held on Nov. 14, 2011, and was won by Gregor Robertson (Vision party). Prior to the election Suzanne had two terms on the Vancouver Park Board, and two terms on Vancouver City council.

The interview was held in Duncan BC on December 28, 2011. I wrote the questions and conducted the interview. One question I forgot to ask her – what are her News Years Resolutions for 2012 🙂

What was your thinking when you first decided to run for political office – was it the issues at the time or did you just want to become involved?
It was the issues – we needed playing fields and the Vancouver Parks Board and City Hall were not putting enough emphasis on sporting facilities.

People say a politician must have good self-esteem – do you agree?
I’m not sure, I think the important thing is to have an interest in the people and the issues – simply getting the job done.

Have you ever had self-doubts about your own capability – say intellectually, or being able to take the pressure, or to delegate?
Occasionally, for example several times when running for Vancouver City Council – but it was more a concern about not having enough experience for the job.

I know that you are an avid reader and love language – did language play a role in the recent campaign?
I think in the campaign we generally had good use of language, although we didn’t succeed for more complex reasons. The debates with other candidates went well.

As a politician, with the swirl of events and meetings, in the heat of the campaign, did you ever have feelings of anxiousness, perhaps feelings of losing control of things?
Campaigning is very intense, and everybody is watching you. This is especially so in debates where every eye is on you and you need to be on top of your game. [Suzanne didn’t directly answer the question but I think she meant that there were anxious moments but overall things did not get out of control in a crazy way – Harry]

Are woman better multi-taskers than guys?
I don’t know about that (laugh), but I do know that I am a good multi-tasker.

Are you ambitious?
Yes – I am going to continue doing interesting things [after the election loss]. I don’t think the word “ambition” should be applied negatively.

How do you balance personal and public life?
I have a supportive family, I didn’t go into office until my youngest child was 14, and my kids today are pretty self-reliant. Also I’ve never ever worked past midnight, even while attending university.

The notions of right and left are relative – for example in Quebec a right leaning politician would be seen in the US as being left wing so (especially considering Quebec’s social policies), so by Canadian standards where do you situate yourself on the political spectrum?
The NPA is usually referred to as centre right.

Who do you vote for federally? Provincially?
NPA is alliance of several political groups, so I don’t talk about Federal politics publicly. Provincially I support the BC Liberal party.

Do you have a political “agenda”?
Yes, build a better Vancouver, put in streetcars, build a new art gallery, allow St. Paul’s Hospital to expand, build new recreation and cultural facilities, create social housing.
I’m a builder.

What is your political philosophy?
I’m not a big government person, I am a strong environmentalist but am also pragmatic. We are green in Vancouver because of good land use decisions and good planning, as opposed to giving grants to green businesses and to people to conduct studies. I believe in doing the right things, but not beating people over the head with regulations. I don’t believe in the nanny state – I believe that informed people will make the right decisions. For example, take the idea that people need water meters to judge how much water they can use – I believe that the water meters are a waste of money and that people will economize their water use in periods of drought.

Are you driven by political philosophy, or do you approach things issue by issue?
Issue by issue – the government doesn’t need to be involved in everything you do. People are always asking about the role of government- sometimes there isn’t a role.

Have your political stripes changed over the course of your life?
Not really, I don’t know that the idea of right and left always makes sense. Consider the abortion issue in the US – at one time the Republicans were for abortion and the Democrats were against it. Some left wing people can also be very conservative – for example with wanting nothing to change.

What politicians, living or dead, do you most admire?
Queen Elizabeth II – she has done the right thing for 60 years. Strictly speaking she is not a politician but she offers support and is a good leader of her country and the Commonwealth of Nations. Another is Gordon Campbell. While I don’t admire everything he did, he did some good things. Take the carbon tax which he created. The NDP voted against the carbon tax, but it is an important tool in reducing carbon emissions.

Has there been any emotional toll with losing an election?
Disappointing yes – but glad I did it. The NPA needed to mount a good campaign which we did, and we got some people elected. So I am disappointed but I don’t take it personally.

Was there any comments in the media that you considered to be particularly unfair?
No, overall media was pretty good. People always take shots at you but I ignore a lot of them, and I think my staff protected me from the more vicous attacks.

Did you ever become truly angry?
Yes, a couple times during the campaign some of our people were careless with information – but in hindsight those incidents now seem trivial.

74,000 well-informed people voted for Gregor Robertson – what are the elements of his political agenda that appealed to these voters?
Well 58, 000 people voted for me! I don’t know why so many voted for him – Gregor didn’t open his mouth, and we didn’t see their candidates. However he was the incumbent and so there is a lot of name recognition. Vision’s history of accomplishment is zero, however they have a good organisation and they got their voters out.

The vote was split along pretty clear geographical lines (north south)– how do you explain this difference?
It does look like a split but it is a bit of generalisation. Having said that, south Vancouver is where more single family homeowners live. These are people who are interested in transit, recreation facilities, and low taxes. Taxes are a big issue for homeowners.

Have you been courted by either provincial or federal political parties?
Yes, but I prefer to hold my cards close to my chest!

Thank you for agreeing to do this interview. (This is where I should have asked her what her 2012 New Years Resolutions are ! …politically speaking that is.)